Red and White Blast From the Past, Just in Time for Christmas

When most bands release a greatest hits album, that compilation record doesn’t get much attention. A greatest hits disc is the record for fans of the band that weren’t quite fans of the band, the guys who liked a few songs but don’t really want to invest in the band’s deeper catalog. The really price-conscious fan might even do well to wait until Christmas or just a couple of months after the release date: greatest hits albums have a way of making their way to the discount bin at the record store pretty quickly. Streaming services have likely only amplified this affect, where everyone can simply make their own greatest hits playlist. 

  When The White Stripes—a band that broke up in 2011, for heaven’s sake—releases a greatest hits album, it gets a write up in The New Yorker. The record My Sister Thanks You and I Thank You is a 26 track compilation that feels like the perfect way to end 2020. The White Stripes compilation brilliantly recreates the band’s eclecticEclectic (adjective): including a wide, perhaps surprising mix of elements. consistency as it takes you through standards like Seven Nation Army and My Doorbell, includes their incredible cover of country star Dolly Parton’s Jolene  (a personal favorite), the elementary school anthem “We’re going to be friends” and includes Bluesy numbers like “Ball and Biscuit.” Jack and Meg always had a very recognizable sound, but they never let that sound become a clichéd brand.
If you can’t tell, I love The White Stripes—the band’s bizarre mix of Detroit punk, Memphis blues, and the odd country standard made them love at first listen for me. The New Yorker loves My Sister Thanks You and I Thank You: music critic Amanda Petrusich turns her review into an interesting meditation on the very ontology of the greatest hits album, and comes with some recommendations for other greatest of the greatests. The album got some love on the other side of the pond as well; The Irish Times finds the album a natural extension of the band’s aesthetic. The online music magazine The Fire Note liked it, but the review is a bit less enthusiastic, portraying the album as nostalgia and taking the usual potshotPotshot (expression/noun): an insult or other violation that feels mean, unwarranted. at Meg White’s drumming. RaggingRagging on (verb/slang): ‘Ragging on’ something is to diminish it verbally, in a cruel way. on Meg’s drumming almost feels like a piece of nostalgia itself, and fans of the band can slip into the well-worn grooves of a debate that was hot twenty years ago. (I always thought the insults had the distinct notes of male insecurity myself). 

  The record is worth a listen. If you liked the band’s energy, weirdness, and the way they zigged when others zaggedZag/Zig (expression): If you do things differently than most people, someone might say you ‘zig when others are zagging,’ or that you ‘zag when they zig.’ Both ‘zag’ and ‘zig’ refer to patterns of movement. , you’ll find the album a great memento. If you’ve been living under a rock and you’ve never heard them before, My Sister Thanks You and I Thank You is a great introduction. 

by Nathan R. Elliott

i. “Long Live the Greatest Hits Album.” The New Yorker. Dec 4, 2020. Advanced. 8 mins. 

ii. “The White Stripes Greatest Hits Review—rowdyRowdy (adjective): Something that is unruly, slightly out-of-control. The word is often a word of praise, but can also be used to censure unwanted behaviour. gathering of rock, roll, and everything in between.” The
Irish Times. Dec 4, 2020. Intermediate. 5 mins.

 iii. “The White Stripes: Greatest Hits [Album Review].”The Fire Note. Dec, 4, 2020. Intermediate (heavy on colloquial English). 5 mins.